Where is IchigoSan?
by Kiyo Crazy
Summary: After having saved Rukia from her death, the team finds out that the can't get back to the living world. Capitan Kuchiki kidnaps Hanatarou in order to find out where the other are hiding. It's now up to Ichigo and the others to save Hanatarou! Chapter 6!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: **Dakara Nakanai De

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Hanatarou would have gripped his chest if he could, but his hands were still bound behind his back by those damn ropes, which by now were cutting into his skin.

_If only I could stop the pain._

He coughed again, as he watched more of his blood fall to the floor.

"I'm not going to tell him"

"I'm not going to tell him"

"I'm not going to tell him"

Hanatarou coughed once again, bringing up more blood then the last time.

"No matter what he does to me, I'm not going to tell, I can't"

Another wave of pain quickly made its way through Hanatarou's small body.

He closed his eyes as tight as he could, to suppress the pain.

A few drops of clear liquid fell from Hanatarou's eyes.

They mixed together with the pools of crimson liquid which was also falling from his face.

He winced again as the salty tears entered the small open cuts on both of his cheeks.

"No matter what he does to me, I'm not going to tell him, not going to tell him where you and the others are hiding Rukia-sama".

Hanatarou could feel new warm fresh blood coming from the slits in his wrists, that the ropes were creating.

"But please Ichigo-san, don't let me die here, I don't want to die alone"

The small boy began to cry in the darkness of the prison cell.

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"So you just expect me to sit here and do nothing, while that bastard does whatever he pleases to Hanatarou!?"

"No Ichigo, that's not what I'm saying now sit down and stop yelling before someone hears you, if they do then all of our lives will be in danger" Urahara said calmly.

Ichigo cursed under his breath before sitting back down again.

"Besides Ichigo, we don't have the slightest clue where Captain Kuchiki has taken him anyway" Renji pointed out needlessly.

There was a long moment of silence before Rukia spoke up.

"This is my fault, it's because Ichigo rescued me that my brother is upset like this, so therefore it's my fault that Hanatarou was kidnapped"

"No it's my fault, I should have been paying more attention, when he attacked us" Inoue said looking at the floor.

"No, me and Renji should have kept a closer eye on him instead of leaving him to you" Ishida sighed, Renji nodded in agreement.

"No you guys, this is entirely my fault"

They all looked up from the table and looked over at Ichigo, who had moved from the table to the window.

"I should have paid more attention when that bastard attacked, I should have kept a closer eye one him"

"Hanatarou didn't get kidnapped because of any of you, he got kidnapped because I was too weak to protect him"

"Ichigo" Inoue said to herself quietly, she had never heard Ichigo say something like that before.

"Well we can't just put all of the blame on you, either way you look at it we are all to blame" Renji said bluntly.

"So what do you plan on doing about this Ichigo?" Urahara said glancing at the orange haired soul reaper.

"You don't know where they are, and compared to him you're just a harmless child"

Rukia watched Ichigo's hands clench up into fists.

"Do you think that will stop him, Ichigo didn't think of that when he came to rescue me, so don't think for a minuet that the same thing will stop him from rescuing Hana".

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Hanatarou was forcefully dragged down the dark and damp hallway of the prison cells.

They got to the end of the hallway when he heard one of the cell doors open.

The next thing he knew, he was picked up off his feel and thrown into the cell.

"Ouch" Hanatarou yelped, as he dragged his small body off of the cold stone floor.

"So just what do you want with me?"

Hanatarou knew in the back of his mind that someone of the 4th division like himself, should never talk to someone higher up like that.

To Captain Kuchiki no less.

Byakuya approached the boy slowly, and never took his eyes off of him.

As he got closer, Hanatarou began to shake.

He couldn't control it, but he had the right to seeing that he witnessed some on the fights between Ichigo and Byakuya, so he knew just how strong he was compared to himself.

He picked the boy up by the collar of his kimono, and forcefully dragged him to his feet.

"You know where he took Rukia, so tell me and I'll let you go"

He wasn't yelling, nor was he trying to scare the boy but still his voice sounded serious.

"No, I can't tell you because I promised Ichigo that I wouldn't tell anyone"

Hanatarou could feel that something bad was coming when Byakuya's face began looking more serious then before.

Before he could react his world burst into stars, as he felt his body collide with the floor again.

Hanatarou lifted his hand to the corner of his mouth, and wiped the blood away.

Then he looked up at the Captain.

"I'm going to come back later, and if you can not come up with a reasonable answer by then, the consequences will be more then a punch to the face".

Hanatarou didn't reply, he just continued to look at the blank floor.

Byakuya scowled again, then left the cell leaving the guard to close and lock it.

After Hanatarou was sure that the hallway was empty, he slowly moved into the corner of the cell.

Once there he wrapped his arms around his knees and brought them closer to his body.

He buried his face into the sleeve of his kimono.

He made it so that you couldn't see his face, the only thing that you could see was a small stream of clear liquid sliding down his cheek.

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**Translation:**

Dakara Nakanai De: So Please don't cry


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:** Usurete Iku Egao To Kimi Wo Mamoritai Kara

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Rukia sat on grass in front of their hideout, watching Ichigo pace back and forwards.

It was like he was some kind of animal, trapped in a cage that he couldn't escape.

Her glance fell from Ichigo to the ground, and noticed a large shadow engulfing her own.

She turned her head to see Renji standing behind her.

"So what's he doing?" he asked bluntly.

"He's trying to figure out where my brother might have taken Hanatarou"

Rukia replied, looking back at the orange haired soul reaper.

She heard Renji let out a heavy sigh.

"He really does care about what happens to that kid, doesn't he"

Rukia smiled even though she knew that Renji couldn't see it.

"Yes, he does"

"But what I don't get, is why"

She looked back up at the red-headed man behind her. She saw the clear look of confusion on his face.

"Well, he hasn't really described his relationship with Hana, but I think that he cares about him because not many people did to begin with".

"Well, if finding this kid will make that look on his face disappear, then I'll help out. No one should feel or look that way, especially Ichigo".

Rukia grinned, she had never heard that kind of thing come from Renji before.

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Rukia and Renji were to busy to notice that Ichigo had stopped pacing, and was now looking in to the stream.

Ichigo's eyes winced as the sun reflected off of the stream, and into his face.

"Hana"

**Flashback:**

"_I'm sorry Ichigo, I'm not very good with hand on hand combat, in fact all's I am good for is retreating"._

_The young soul reaper hung his head and pulled his legs to his chest._

_Ichigo glanced at the younger soul reaper, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder._

"_It doesn't matter, as long as I am around, you won't have to worry about combat"_

_Hanatarou pulled his legs closer to his chest._

_Ichigo smiled slightly, as he pulled the smaller boy onto his lap._

_He then protectively wrapped both arms around Hana's fragile body, and held him close to his chest._

_The look of surprise quickly left the other boys face, as he gripped the orange haired soul reapers kimono._

"_Thank you, Ichigo-san"_

"_Don't worry Hana, as long as I still have life left in me"_

_Ichigo paused, then looked down at Hanatarou._

"_I won't let anyone hurt you"_

_Hanatarou grinned, as Ichigo ruffled his hair._

**Flashback End:**

"The last thing I said to him, was a promise that I couldn't keep".

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Hanatarou glanced up from the floor to the window, and saw that it had started to rain.

He managed to give a weak smile.

"Inoue said that she liked watching the rain fall"

He let out a heavy sigh.

He then shifted his weight to make it easier for his broken leg.

Captain Kuchiki had come in earlier, once again asking where Ichigo and the others were.

But still, Hana refused to tell him.

As a result he gave him a few more good punches to the face, and then broke his right leg before leaving.

A few more strains of clear liquid ran down Hanatarou's cheeks.

Ichigo had told him before, to never cry in front of the enemy, not to give them the satisfaction of breaking you.

So naturally, Hana did what Ichigo told him.

He never cried, not until he was sure that they had left. It wasn't like there was anyone else who would have heard his cries in the chamber anyway.

He was the only one there.

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Byakuya had taken him to one of the Eastern Chambers, he didn't want to make it too easy or too hard for Ichigo to find them.

He knew……he knew that even though Hanatarou was from the Fourth Division, Ichigo didn't care.

What he did care about was Hana's safety.

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"_As soon as Ichigo and his companions comes for you, I'll kill them all"_

That was the last thing he had said to him before he left.

"Ichigo…..I don't want to die alone, but I don't want to see you get killed".

Just as quickly as the smile appeared on Hanatarou's face, it vanished.

Most likely never to be seen again.

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**Translation:**

Usurete Iku Egao To Kimi Wo Mamoritai Kara: I want to protect you and that disappearing smile


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: **Kimi Wo Mitsuke Dasu

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"Ichigo…" Renji said calmly as he looked at Ichigo, who still glancing into the stream.

"Ichigo" Renji said once again, this time in a slightly louder voice then he had before.

Despite the fact that he heard his name being called, the orange-haired soul reaper never took his eyes off of the moving waters.

"Renji"

The older soul reaper turned to see Rukia coming up behind him.

"Renji…please let me talk to him, alone" Rukia pleaded as she looked from the red-haired soul reaper over to Ichigo.

Renji let out a heavy sigh and began to walk back to their hideout. As he went, he through his hands into the air, "Fine…but with him like that I doubt you're going to get anything out of him" Renji called before disappearing into the small hut.

"Ichigo…please talk to me" Rukia said looking at Ichigo with saddened eyes, knowing how he must feel.

"The last thing I said to him, was a promise that I couldn't keep"

"What?" Rukia said looking up at the taller teen standing next to her.

The dark-haired soul reaper watched as Ichigo's hands clenched up into fists once again.

"I told him that as long as I still had life in me then I would never let anyone hurt him" Ichigo said as tears began rolling down his cheeks.

"Don't worry Ichigo, I'm sure that Hanatarou's fi-" Rukia was cut off when the older teen turned to face her only to snap back at her last comment.

"No! He's not fine…nor will he be fine when he is in the hands of your psychotic brother!" Ichigo snapped as more tears escaped his already saddened eyes.

Ichigo began to calm down slightly when he saw what kind of impression he had made on Rukia, which wasn't a good one.

"I'm sorry Rukia…."

The younger soul reapers expression changed when she saw Ichigo finally let all of the tears that he had been holding back spill from his eyes.

She knelt down next to the orange-haired boy and pulled him into an embrace.

"Don't worry Ichigo, I promise you that we'll do what ever we can to bring Hana back safely" Rukia whispered into the older soul reapers ear.

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"So, Urahara…what's your plan on getting Hanatarou back from the Captain?" Renji asked as he looked away from the window to the older man sitting at the small table.

The blond-haired man took another small sip of his tea before looking up at the soul reaper, "At the moment, we can't do much of anything until we can narrow down the number of holding cells in the area."

Both Inoue and Ishida gave a startled jump when Renji suddenly slammed his fist on the side of the wall, "Well, tell that cat friend of yours to hurry it up! Because at this rate by the time she finds out which cell his in…by the time we get there he could already be dead!" Renji snapped as he looked out the window at Rukia, who was still holding the cry teen in her arms, and growled, under his breath.

Then, as if on it had been planed, Yoruichi entered the room, the black cat sat down across the table from the others, "I traced Captain Kuchiki sent all over the Eastern Boarders, and found that he had repeatedly entered Chamber Six three times that same day."

"T-then that must mean that" Inoue said as she gave an exited look as the cat nodded, as if she knew what the girl was going to say next.

"That's where Captain Kuchiki must be holding Hanatarou" Ishida said as he glanced over at Urahara, who was still watching the red-haired soul reaper.

Everyone fell silent as both Ichigo and Rukia entered the hideout, "What?" the orange-haired soul reaper asked as he glanced around at his companions, who seemed happier then they had before he left the hut.

"Ichigo, I've found where Captain Kuchiki is keeping young Hanatarou Yamada" Yoruichi said sternly as she never took her golden eyes off of the teen.

Then without warning, Ichigo swerved around and grabbed his sword, from it's leaning position against the wall closest to the door, and ran out of the hut and began heading down the dirt path.

"Ichigo wait a minute, don't be so rash…we haven't even told you where he's being held!" Ishida called after the orange-haired soul reaper as he began chasing after him with Inoue close behind him.

"Renji, Rukia, let's us be off…there's no time to waste" Yoruichi said simply as she walked past the two soul reapers, Ichigo and his companions where now on there way to Chamber Six, on the Eastern Boarders.

"_Just hang on a bit longer Hana, I'm coming"_

"Once we enter the Eastern Chambers, we'll have to be on our toes…most likely Captain Kuchiki has placed many guards around the surrounding Chambers" Yoruichi pointed out as the entrance to the Eastern Boarder became visible.

"Right" everyone but Ichigo seemed to say in unison, the orange-haired soul reaper had other things on his mind…he couldn't care less about how many guards there were, the only thing he cared about was Hana.

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Tears began to stream down Hanatarou's face as Byakuya's grip on the younger boy's kimono collar tightened.

"I'll ask you again, where did, Ichigo, Renji and those others take Rukia" Byakuya snapped as he began to quickly lose his patience with the younger boy.

Hana wanted deeply to tell the Captain once again that he wasn't going to say where they were, but he hadn't had anything to drink or eat in days…adding on the fact that his chest felt like it was burning every time he did manage to speak.

"Still not talking" the Captain growled under his breath as he dropped the younger soul reaper, "No matter, I'll be back later tonight and if you still refuse to talk…then we'll just have to force it out of you, whether you like it or not" Byakuya snapped, hoping that the young soul reaper would give him something to go on.

But still, Hanatarou kept quiet about the whereabouts of Ichigo and the others, but this only made the Captain angrier.

Byakuya's grip on Hana's kimono tightened once again as he forcefully slammed the smaller boy's body against the cold, damp wall of the cell. As he did this he not only pinned Hanatarou against the far wall, but he also slammed him other fist into the dark-hair soul reapers ribcage…and you could easily hear no less than two of them crack.

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"ICHIGO!"

The orange-haired teen stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of the younger soul reapers voice echoing through the rows of Chambers.

"Damn it, I'm coming Hana!" Ichigo yelled as he swung around and started heading back towards the sound of the boy's voice.

"Ichigo! We haven't scanned that far yet, there could be guards over that way" Renji snapped as he turned just enough to see the other soul reaper disappear around a corner of another building, "Idiot" the red-haired soul reaper spat under his breath as he followed after Ichigo, the others didn't seem to notice them both running off through the rows of Chambers.

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"Please Hana, please…just hold on until I get there" Ichigo said to himself as he soon found himself standing in front of the door of Chamber Six.

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**Translation: Kimi Wo Mitsuke Dasu: **I Will Find You


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: ****Soba Ni Iru Koto Shika Atashi Ni Wa Dekinai Kedo**

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Ichigo couldn't care less if there had been a hundred guards on the other side of the two large wooden doors that sealed the entrance of the Sixth Chamber, he's blew both of the doors off of their hinges in less then a minuet.

"Ichigo, don't be stupid! Do you want Captain Kuchiki to find and kill us before we even have a chance to find Hana!?" Renji snapped angrily as he followed the other soul reaper into the dimly light hallway.

The orange-haired teen ignored the other boys comment as he continued down the hall.

"Hey Renji," Ichigo said quietly as he turned his head just enough to see the red-haired soul reaper out of the corner of his eye, "You must have come down here when you were still on the same side as the Captain"

"Yeah, so…what's you're point?" Renji asked cocking an eyebrow.

Ichigo growled under his breath before finishing his sentence, "My point is, in which direction are cells in this hole?"

"Oh, strait ahead there should be a staircase which leads down to the cells…if I remember correctly" the older soul reaper said as he directed the other teen with his finger.

Once again Ichigo was off and running down the just barely light hallways.

"_Hana…I swear that I'll find you" _

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Captain Kuchiki had left the Easter Chambers about half an hour ago, not that Hanatarou had been keeping track.

Now that the sun was setting, Hana's small, thin form was now just barely visible inside of the cold-damp cells, which the floor, was now, washed over with the small boy's blood.

By now…the young soul reaper had lost all hope of being saved, nor would it matter, either from the pain or from the blood loss…either way, he knew somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he was going to die.

Hana had also given up trying to talk, his throat felt like it was on fire due to the fact that every time Byakuya came down to his cell…he always seems to fancy grabbing hold of the dark-haired soul reapers pail-thin throat.

His broken leg was throbbing along with several other broken bones, along with the newest additions to his list, his ribs, as well as the many different cuts and bruises…which now decorated the boy's body.

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"Hana!" Ichigo called through the rows of cells after cells.

"Ichigo…" Renji said silently as he turned to face the other soul reaper, "Come here."

As the orange-haired teen slowly made his way towards the other boy, his heart began to race as many negative questions sped in his mind, hoping that none of them were going to get a correct answer.

Ichigo held his breath as he summoned up enough courage to peer into the cell, just enough to see the outline of Hanatarou's thin form, shaking non-stopped in the far corner of the cell.

"…Hana…" Ichigo said quietly, but the reply wasn't quite what he had expected. Hanatarou didn't even bother lifting his head at the sound of Ichigo's voice, nor did he even move at the sound of his own name.

Ichigo took a deep breath before entering. Renji watched not only Ichigo, who was slowly making his way over to the terrified boy, but also the hallway from where they had just came from…because with Captain Kuchiki involved, who knows how many guards there were in the Eastern Chambers.

"Hana…it's me, Ichigo, and Renji…we came to get you out of here" Ichigo paused as he watched the dark-haired soul reaper continue to shake despite his words of comfort, "Common, we've got to get out of here before Byakuya comes back."

"Ichigo hurry it up, I know what the kids been through, but we can't stand around all day…just grab him and lets go" Renji said in a semi-whisper as he continued to flash his glances from Ichigo and Hanatarou back to the hallway and the stairs.

Ichigo sigh at the older teens comment, but knowing that it was true and that they were short on time, instead of trying to get Hana's attention by talking to him…the orange-haired teen slowly extended a hand to the smaller boy.

Hanatarou's shaking seemed to seize when the other soul reapers hand made contact with his head, and began to stroke the blood covered strains, "It's alright Hanatarou" Ichigo said in a calming voice.

"I-Ich-Ichigo…san" Hana managed to choke out among the tears, as he felt Ichigo's hand still stroking his head gingerly.

The orange-haired soul reaper gave a weak smile at the others response.

Just then an explosion was heard from outside the Chambers, along with the frightened screams of their comrades.

"Damn, Renji take care of Hana, untie him and try to stop the bleeding the best you can…then take him back to the hideout" Ichigo snapped at the older teen as he ran out of the cell and back up the stairs before Renji could even disagree with him.

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Renji looked back at the terrified teen and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Is that the reason why he cares so much about you…because you're weak and you need protection?" Renji asked to himself out loud, not bothering asking Hanatarou…knowing that he probably wouldn't get an answer anyway.

The red-haired soul reaper got down next to the other boy and pulled out his sword, so that he could cut, the now blood covered ropes, off of the smaller boys wrists, but as soon as Renji touched the boy's wrists…Hana tensed up.

The red-haired soul reaper let out an unsatisfying sigh, "He got you with his sword didn't he?" Renji asked, once again knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer.

Being from the 6th Division, Renji has seen the aftermath of some of Captain Kuchiki's information gathering sessions with other soul reapers over the many years he had been serving under him.

Renji had only placed his hand on the ground for a moment, to regain his balance, but that when he noticed how damp the floor was, but that's also when he noticed that it wasn't water that was making the floor wet…it was the younger soul reapers blood.

"Ah…Hanatarou, how long have you been bleeding like this?" Renji asked as he looked from the floor back to the other soul reaper.

The dark-haired boy began to open his mouth slowly, in order to try and answer the lieutenant's question, but before he had time to even think about what he would say to him…both a wave of pain, and darkens flooded the small boy's body.

Hanatarou let out a loud, high-pitched yelp of pain that echoed among the empty cells, before the small soul reaper lost all his strength and fell sideways onto the lap of the lieutenant.

"H-Hanatarou" Renji said as he slowly, and carefully, rolled the smaller boy over so that now he was lying on his back in the other soul reapers arms.

It didn't take Renji long to realize that there was something wrong with the smaller boy, both shallow and deep cuts decorated his arms, and now the red-haired soul reaper could also see more of these cuts covered his chest.

"Damn that Captain" Renji cursed as he took off the top half of his kimono, so that only the white undergarment now remained, and wrapped it around the smaller boy's body in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

The older soul reaper gathered Hanatarou's small form in his arms and left the cell, as he was running back towards the entrance; he looked back down at the small, dark-haired teen in his arms, and cursed under his breath once again.

"If this kid dies…Captain Kuchiki is going to with that he was never born" Renji paused as the thought of what Ichigo might do to himself if he let the kid die, "Him…and me both."

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**Translation: **

**Soba Ni Iru Koto Shika Atashi Ni Wa Dekinai Kedo: **Being by your side, is all I can do


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:** **Makenai De Ichirin No Hana**

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Renji continued to make his way down the seemingly endless row of cells, up the stairs to the main level of the chamber and out the front gate.

"Just hang on kid" Renji said angrily as he ran as hard and fast as his legs could carry him, "Don't you dare die on me!"

"Renji!" Rukia called, from her hiding place…which was between two of the buildings, as she waved the older soul reaper over.

Almost immediately, Renji slowed down and ducked into the dark alleyway next to the female soul reaper.

"Rukia, where's Ichigo?" Renji asked as he got down on his knees and balanced out Hanatarou's weight so that it was even on both of his legs.

"He's helping the other fend off the guards…he wanted me to help you in anyway possible" the younger girl said in a low whisper and she slowly glanced around the corner of one of the buildings to be sure that they hadn't been followed.

Rukia sighed slightly when she was sure that they hadn't and then turned to face Renji once again, "How is he?" she asked shakily as she watched the thin trails of blood flow down the smaller boys arms.

"To tell you the truth…I have no idea, but I know that he's in a lot of pain, no questions asked about that" Renji replied as he adjusted Hana once again on his lap, "But one things for sure…the Captain did use his sword on the poor kid."

Rukia sighed slightly as she placed her hand, slowly and gentility, on the younger boy's forehead, "He's burning up!"

"Well there's nothing that we can do…not until we can get him back to the hideout in once piece" Renji said as he began to apply pressure to the dark-haired boy's injuries.

"I'll go tell Ichigo to hurry it up with the fighting" the female soul reaper said bluntly as she got off of her knees and began proceeding to the alleyways exit, when Renji's free hand grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"…Renji…?" Rukia said stunned as she looked down at the older teen's hands.

"You go and help Ichigo…don't order him to hurry up, you'll only make him more worried then what he already is if you do that" Renji paused as glanced back down at the smaller boy him his arms, and watched as the clod sweat began running down the dark-haired soul reapers face, "Just leave the kid to me…"

Rukia was somewhat shocked at what the red-head had just said, she had never seen him so serious about something like this before. In fact, she had never seen this side of him before.

"Rukia!" Renji snapped suddenly, which also snapped the younger soul reaper out of her daze.

"Right…I'll go help him, and not mention anything about this" Rukia added the ending part, almost silently as she disappeared around the corner of the two Chambers.

Renji regain his focus on the younger boy, when he felt him try to lift himself up off of the lap of the lieutenant, "Hey…Hanatarou, slow down ok…it's alright you're safe now, we're out of the hell hole."

At the reassuring sound of the older teen's voice, Hanatarou…with whatever small amount of strength he had left managed to open his eyes fully and look back up at Renji.

"L…Lieutenant Abari…" the younger boy managed to choke out, while he finally managed to get into a sitting position…with the help of the both Renji's legs.

"Common kid, I told you before…we're on the same side now, it's Renji" the red-haired soul reaper said sternly as he placed his right hand on Hanatarou's back to help him balance.

"W-where's Ichigo-san?" Hana asked as he looked around his new surroundings slowly, due to the fact that his vision was still quite blurry, from all the blood that he had lost from his injuries.

"He's helping the others fight off the guards…but don't worry he's close by" Renji replied, his voice sounded somewhat unsatisfying…but then again, why wouldn't it be, it's the first time that the older soul reaper had been placed in a situation like this. It's not everyday that he's got a younger teen in his arms, not to mention that Hana's bleeding, but also…trying to make him feel safer by telling him the Ichigo's close by.

Renji was snapped out of his slightly daze when he felt the dark-haired soul reapers small body begin to shake against his hand, which was still resting against the boy's back.

"Hey…Hanatarou are you ok?" Renji slapped himself mentally, of course he wasn't ok…the poor kid had just been tortured by one of the strongest Captains in the Soul Society.

"I…I c-can't…b-b-brea-breath" Hanatarou choked out as whatever strength he had managed to muster up disappeared in less than an instant.

The smaller boy's body collapsed once again, into the lap of the older teen, "H-hey Hanatarou! Hey…can you hear me!?"

Renji was now frantically shaking the boy by his shoulders, trying to get him to say something…or at least tell him where it hurts and what he might be able to do to help.

"Well, well, well…looky what we have here. If it isn't the lieutenant of squad six…Renji Abari" came uncomfortably familiar voice from behind.

Renji slowly turned his head over his left shoulder, only to come face to face with his Captain, "Captain Kuchiki"

The Captain scowled at the seen before him, and then slowly drew his sword, "It seems that I have no choice but to kill you and the boy."

Renji knew that it was pointless to draw his sword and try to fight him now…the only thing that he could do, was to try and protect Hana for as long as he could.

"Die…"

Renji closed his eyes as he watched his former Captain raise his sword, knowing that only pain could follow.

After a moment of feeling nothing but the sweat running down his face, he had the courage to open his eyes and look back at the Captain. Only to be met by the back of an orange-haired soul reaper.

"I-Ichigo!"

"Renji, get yourself and Hana the hell out of here!" Ichigo snapped as he slowly began pushing back the Captain's sword to the best of his abilities.

"…Ichigo…" Renji said slowly as he glanced from Ichigo go the boy in his arms, who was now struggling to breath.

"Renji! Now!" the orange-haired teen snapped once again.

Renji nodded to himself as he once again, gathered the smaller boy in his arms and made his way down the opposite end of the alleyway.

_Don't give up Hana…you're not done living yet_

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**Translation: Makenai De Ichirin No Hana: So don't give up, Single Flower**

**---**

**Authors Note: I am sooooooooo sorry that I didn't update as soon as I wanted to, but I've been swamped with homework and I was viciously attacked by my writers block gremlins damn them to hell those little green beasts, cough…cough**

**I'll try the best I can to get the next chapter up as soon as humanly possible even though I'm only 1 percent human and 99 percent, pure demon child, trademark…evil smirk **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: ****Itsu Made Mo Futari Tsuyoku**

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"Ichigo Kurosaki" Byakuya said coolly, not even seeming remotely surprised at the fact that the orange-haired teen had interfered, "I'm surprised that you made it here in the small amount of time that it took me to draw my sword."

The orange-haired soul reaper scowled as he forced the older man back three more steps, "Well you shouldn't be...you more than likely knew that I was going to be coming back for Hanatarou" Ichigo scowled at the dark-haired soul-reaper.

"Well, aren't we the smart one...you're right Ichigo, I did know that you'd be coming for the boy sooner or later. And it seems that it was sooner...but I suppose that's a good thing though...seeing that he would have died from his injuries if you had shown up any later."

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo snapped as he stepped back, then launched forward for a frontal attack, which Byakuya easily avoided.

"You're moves seem to be getting sloppier Ichigo, it seems that you've forgotten to take your own advice about not letting your attacks be blinded by rage" the older soul reaper stated as he sheathed his sword.

The orange-haired teen stood in shock as the older man turned away from him and headed towards the entrance of the alleyway, "Where are you going! We're not through yet!"

"This fight is meaningless to me now."

"W-what do you mean?" Ichigo snapped, his sword still drawn.

"I have what I truly desire, and that is the whereabouts of your hideout" Byakuya paused and turned back around to face Ichigo once again, "Thanks to Hanatarou Yamada."

The dark-haired soul reaper turned back around, his back facing the younger boy, and used a flash-step…disappearing before Ichigo's eyes.

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_Damn…Damn…Damn…Damn!_

Ichigo kept swearing to himself mentally as he continued to follow the trail of Renji's spiritual pressure, which led to a newly found hideout a good enough distance away from their previous one.

While Rukia and the others where relocating themselves, far enough away from both Renji and Ichigo's new hideout as well as their old one.

"Renji!" Ichigo yelled as he burst through the door of the small hut, which lay on the outskirts of the Rukon District, "What the hell is wrong with you! Your spiritual pressure is leaking all over the place!"

"Shut up! The only reason I did that was because I knew that you wouldn't have been able to find this place other wise!" the red-haired man snapped back, equally as loud.

"Yeah, well what would you have done if Byakuya found you!?" Ichigo snapped back, pointing an accusing finger at the older soul reaper.

Renji was just about to yell back at Ichigo, if it hadn't had been for the small, quivering body, which had begun to shake even more when the two of them started yelling at each other, "Ichigo….shut up, you're scaring the poor kid to death."

"Well-oh….." the orange-haired teen placed his sword on the floor of the hut next to Renji's, then slowly made his way over to the redhead.

"I'm sorry Hanatarou" Ichigo said in a low whisper as he genially began stroking the smaller boy's soft, yet blood coated hair.

"Ichigo…he needs medical attention…" Renji said loosening his grip on the smaller boy's body, signaling him that no one was going to hurt him now, as he did so, he glanced down at the boy's blood covered and shaking form, "A lot of it at that."

"Yeah….I know, but we'll just have to do the best we can" Ichigo said as he pulled his hand away from Hanatarou's head, and moving it down to the dark-haired boy's forehead.

"What do you mean by we? Ichigo this kid doesn't need us, he needs a doctor!" Renji snapped, once again forgetting that the younger boy was still in the room.

"Don't you think I know that, but we don't have another choice. Byakuya now know where our old hideout was, and if we leave this one then we'll just be sending ourselves to our graves." Ichigo sighed at the fact the Hana did in fact have a fever, and a very high one at that.

"I-I'm…..I'm s-sorry"

Both soul reapers turned their attention away from each other for the moment and look down at Hanatarou, who seemed to have regained full consciousness again.

"I'm…so…sorry…I-Ichigo-san" Hana said softly as he turned his head from Renji's shoulder to face the orange-haired teen, tears already falling from his hurt eyes, "I…I tried, really-really I did….b-but it just hurt…..s-so much….an-an-and I couldn't do it."

It took all of Ichigo's strength not to start crying at the sight of the broken boy in front of him. He finally found that keeping his feelings for the smaller boy became to much for him to bare.

The orange-haired teen reached out carefully, not wanting to injure the boy further, and brought him out of the red-haired man's grasp and into his own arms as the tears of pain and sorrow he had been withholding for so long, finally began to fall.

_Why? Why is he apologizing? Because he was almost beaten to death by that bastard Byakuya, and had finally had enough and had told him where our hideout was? He could be dieing, hell he could die right now…here in my arms and he's apologizing. _

_No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one who should be in that much pain right now…not him, it's me. Hanatarou……you don't deserve to be like this, you've done nothing wrong, it's me…it's always been me._

_I'm the reason you're always getting hurt. I'm the reason why you're always in so much pain…and yet you're the one apologizing to me. It's me……it's my fault not your's. It's me!_

"No….no Hana, it's me. I'm the one, who's sorry, I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you!" Ichigo said as the tears began falling more freely from his eyes than before, and they landed in Hanatarou's dark, blood-streaked hair.

"I swear….I swear that I'm never going to let you go through something like this ever again, for as long as I live Hanatarou, never!" the orange-haired reaper had begun choking on his own words by this point, but he didn't care.

"I'm so sorry Hana…..I'm sorry that you had to go through that all alone. But I'm never going to leave your side again….we'll be together…always…together" Ichigo paused, and silently tucked the other boy's head under his chin and nuzzled his hair genially with his noise, and as he was doing this…he laid a soft kiss on the top of the boy's head.

"I love you Hanatarou Yamada…and I always will."

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**Translation: Itsu Made Mo Futari Tsuyoku: **We'll be strong together, forever


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